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arXiv:1406.6295

Stochastic Variational Method as a Quantization Scheme II: Quantization of Electromagnetic Fields

Takeshi Kodama, Kazuo Tsushima

Published Jun 24, 2014• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantization of electromagnetic fields is investigated in the framework of stochastic variational method (SVM). Differently from the canonical quantization, this method does not require canonical form and quantization can be performed directly from the gauge invariant Lagrangian. The gauge condition is used to choose dynamically independent variables. We verify that, in the Coulomb gauge condition, SVM result is completely equivalent to the traditional result. On the other hand, in the Lorentz gauge condition, SVM quantization can be performed without introducing the indefinite metric. The temporal and longitudinal components of the gauge filed, then, behave as c-number functionals affected by quantum fluctuation through the interaction with charged matter fields. To see further the relation between SVM and the canonical quantization, we quantize the usual gauge Lagrangian with the Fermi term and argue a stochastic process with a negative second order correlation is introduced to reproduce the indefinite metric.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1406.6295

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Quantization of electromagnetic fields is investigated in the framework of stochastic variational method (SVM). Differently from the canonical quantization, this method does not require canonical form and quantization can be performed directly from the gauge invariant Lagrangian. The gauge condition is used to choose dynamically independent variables. We verify that, in the Coulomb gauge condition, SVM result is completely equivalent to the traditional result. On the other hand, in the Lorentz gauge condition, SVM quantization can be performed without introducing the indefinite metric. The temporal and longitudinal components of the gauge filed, then, behave as c-number functionals affected by quantum fluctuation through the interaction with charged matter fields. To see further the relation between SVM and the canonical quantization, we quantize the usual gauge Lagrangian with the Fermi term and argue a stochastic process with a negative second order correlation is introduced to reproduce the indefinite metric.
The stochastic variational method (SVM) is the generalization of the variational approach to systems described by stochastic variables. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of SVM as an alternative field-quantization scheme, by considering the complex Klein–Gordon equation. There, the Euler–Lagrangian equation for the stochastic field variables leads to the functional Schrödinger equation, which can be interpreted as the Euler (ideal fluid) equation in the functional space. The present formulation is a quantization scheme based on commutable variables, so that there appears no ambiguity associated with the ordering of operators, e.g., in the definition of Noether charges.
We examine a covariant quantization of electromagnetic fields by using an operator derived from a constant scalar that can be called extended Lorentz gauge. The quantization can avoid an inconsistency between Lorentz gauge and a commutation relation, which can eliminate the need for introduction of physical state defined by a subsidiary condition and auxiliary field in Lagrangian density in Lorentz gauge. By using this quantization and indefinite metric straightforwardly, all quantum phenomena can be provided without enigmatic and paradoxical "probability interpretation".
A system of nonrelativistic charged particles and radiation is canonically quantized in the Coulomb gauge and Maxwell's equations in quantum electrodynamics are derived. By requiring form invariance of the Schrodinger equation under a space and time dependent unitary transformation, operator gauge transformations on the quantized electromagnetic potentials and state vectors are introduced. These gauge transformed potentials have the same form as gauge transformations in non-Abelian gauge field theories. A gauge-invariant method for solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in quantum electrodynamics is given. Maxwell's equations are written in a form which holds in all gauges and which has formal similarity to the equations of motion of non-Abelian gauge fields. A gauge-invariant derivation of conservation of energy in quantum electrodynamics is given. An operator gauge transformation is made to the multipolar gauge in which the potentials are expressed in terms of the electromagnetic fields. The multipolar Hamiltonian is shown to be the minimally coupled Hamiltonian with the electromagnetic potentials in the multipolar gauge. The model of a charged harmonic oscillator in a single-mode electromagnetic field is considered as an example. The gauge-invariant procedure for solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation is used to obtain the gauge-invariant probabilities that the oscillator is in an energy eigenstate For comparison, the conventional approach is also used to solve the harmonic oscillator problem and is shown to give gauge-dependent amplitudes.
The notion that the electromagnetic field is quantized is usually inferred from observations such as the photoelectric effect and the black-body spectrum. However accounts of the quantization of this field are usually mathematically motivated and begin by introducing a vector potential, followed by the imposition of a gauge that allows the manipulation of the solutions of Maxwell's equations into a form that is amenable for the machinery of canonical quantization. By contrast, here we quantize the electromagnetic field in a less mathematically and more physically motivated way. Starting from a direct description of what one sees in experiments, we show that the usual expressions of the electric and magnetic field observables follow from Heisenberg's equation of motion. In our treatment, there is no need to invoke the vector potential in a specific gauge and we avoid the commonly used notion of a fictitious cavity that applies boundary conditions to the field.
This review paper comprehensively examines the influence of spatial torsion on quantum fluctuations from the perspectives of Metric-Affine Gravity (MAG) and the Stochastic Variational Method (SVM). We first outline the fundamental framework of MAG, a generalized theory that includes both torsion and non-metricity, and discuss the geometrical significance of torsion within this context. Subsequently, we summarize SVM, a powerful technique that facilitates quantization while effectively incorporating geometrical effects. By integrating these frameworks, we evaluate how the geometrical structures originating from torsion affect quantum fluctuations, demonstrating that they induce non-linearity in quantum mechanics. Notably, torsion, traditionally believed to influence only spin degrees of freedom, can also affect spinless degrees of freedom via quantum fluctuations. Furthermore, extending beyond the results of previous work [Koide and van de Venn, Phys. Rev. A112, 052217 (2025)], we investigate the competitive interplay between the Levi-Civita curvature and torsion within the non-linearity of the Schrödinger equation. Finally, we discuss the structural parallelism between SVM and information geometry, highlighting that the splitting of time derivatives in stochastic processes corresponds to the dual connections in statistical manifolds. These insights pave the way for future extensions to gravity theories involving non-metricity and are expected to deepen our understanding of unresolved cosmological problems.